14 January 2009

EFB Newsletter January 2009

The long-term effects of emergency measures must be assessed, EBF Secretary General Guido Ravoet notes. Maintaining a European playing field is a priority, which only coordination can ensure.

The last months of 2008 have been some of the most dramatic months the financial services industry has faced for a very long time, EBF Secretary General Guido Ravoet says introducing the newsletter. However, the long-term effects of the emergency measures provided by national governments on further market integration in the EU and on international competitiveness of European banks must be assessed.

 

Maintaining a European playing field is a priority, which only coordination can ensure, he underlined. Besides emergency measures, further positive steps have been taken to generate a coordinated approach to the crisis, first at European level and more recently at global level, with the G20 measures.

 

While the EBF warns against sweeping reforms, it acknowledges that policy-makers face the difficult challenge of creating a new balance between market forces on the one hand and regulation on the other. If they succeed in building a secure environment for financial activity, one which does not stifle creativity and allows for natural market processes such as integration, Europe’s economy will have a solid basis for recovery, Ravoet says.

 

The newsletter includes articles on several issues such as the OTC Derivative Market, the Recapitalisation Scheme, Credit Ratings Agencies, and Short Selling Measures.

The newsletter is attached below.